Blackfoot name bestowed on U of L’s EleV Navigator Team

By Lethbridge Herald on May 10, 2022.

Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman Blackfoot Elder Francis First Charger bestows a Blackfoot name on the EleV Navigator Team, during a naming ceremony Tuesday at the University of Lethbridge.

Alejandra Pulido-Guzman – Lethbridge Herald

The University of Lethbridge EleV Navigator Team received a Blackfoot name bestowed by Blackfoot Elder Francis First Charger during a naming ceremony Tuesday at the University of Lethbridge. 

The name bestowed on the EleV Navigator Team is Iiksitawapa Akakatsiyiwa (Going All Out Society).

During the ceremony University of Lethbridge manager of strategic Indigenous learning initiatives Shanda Webber, said receiving a Blackfoot name is a great honour, and also bears a great responsibility. 

“Every name has a meaning. Every name has a story. And once bestowed that name, it is now the individual or group who carry that name to hold true to the meaning and story of the name. I know the navigator team will hold our new name in high regard and honour our role in the community,” said Webber. 

She explained during the ceremony that they received the Blackfoot name as per the advice of Blackfoot Elders Francis First Charger and Cathy Hunt, to set the paths of the EleV Navigators forward in “a good way”, and is a true honour to welcome them into their roles as community liaisons.

During the ceremony, First Charger described how they arrived upon the name and how impressed he was with the navigator team.

“When we talked with them, I could see they have a lot of enthusiasm, their hearts are in the right place, and they are a very diverse group. Now that the six of them are working together they are like a family. The name is hard to translate but when I look at this group, I see they have a lot of fire in them and I see them going all out.”

Established in late 2019, EleV is an innovative partnership between the Blackfoot Confederacy, University of Lethbridge and the Mastercard Foundation established to create educational opportunities for Indigenous youth and bolster supports to ensure their success.

The EleV Navigator Team consists of six dedicated navigators, of which one education and one employment navigator is dedicated to each of the respective Blackfoot Communities of Kainai, Piikani and Siksika. 

The primary focus of the EleV Navigator Team is to enhance opportunities for authentic relationship building and provide in-community supportive services and communication to guide Indigenous learners along their education and career pathways.

University of Lethbridge president and vice-chancellor Mike Mahon said Indigenization continues to be a high priority at the University of Lethbridge. 

“We are grateful for our partnership with the Blackfoot Confederacy and Mastercard Foundation,” said Mahon.

University of Lethbridge special advisor to the president Leroy Little Bear, provided an analogy about the word navigator and said he thinks it is appropriate for the work they are doing at the university. 

“The word navigator is hugely associated with guiding a ship and a navigator usually determines where a ship is going to go,” said Little Bear.

The Tuesday naming ceremony featured an offer of prayers with pipe, followed by the giving of the Blackfoot name, a praise song from Little Bear, and a celebratory feast.

After the ceremony, speaking to the media Webber said they were truly blessed with the name bestowed upon them. 

“As Leroy Little Bear said we are steering the ship and moving forward in providing support and guidance not only to our students but also really listening to our communities to work in partnership and to see what our communities’ priorities are and how we can assist in moving forward together,” said Webber. 

She said they are going into year three of their partnership with the Mastercard Foundation and because of COVID they were stalled a bit in the last year, but now with this naming ceremony it is really a rebirth for navigators to begin engagement. 

“Starting next week, we’ll actually have meet and greet sessions within community,” said Webber. 

Upcoming Sessions include:

-Kainai Nation Event Wednesday, May 18, 2022 at 5 p.m. (Doors open at 4:30) at the Multi-Purpose Building. 

For more information on this meet and greet, please contact: Jill Chief Calf, jill.chiefcalf@uleth.ca or Trent Frank, trent.frank@uleth.ca

-Piikani Nation Event Thursday, May 19, 2022 at 5 p.m. (Doors open at 4:30) at the Piikani Secondary School. For more information on this event, please contact Deserae Yellow Horn, d.yellowhorn@uleth.ca or Verona White Cow, verona.whitecow@uleth.ca

-Siksika Nation Event is coming in June with details to be announced. For more information on this event, please contact Leroy Wolf Collar, leroy.wolfcollar@uleth.ca or Ek-Kanakii Mekaisto, kanakii.mekaisto@uleth.ca

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